I got mad today. Really, really angry. It doesn't matter what about, except it was something I had no control over, but it affected me and my dinner guests.

I was still seething when a friend of mine pinged me on AIM. She needed help for an application to a volunteer organization. I had some time. I know I helped her - I managed to elicit the information she already had so she could write about it. And in that process, I calmed down enough to let the anger go.

My guests arrived and I told them this - I'd already spoken to the husband while I was still angry and he could sense it, so I felt I had to tell them why I was better. As it happens, they run a nonprofit dedicated to improving accessibility for disabled members of the Orthodox Jewish community. And they immediately asked me if I wanted to volunteer to help them.

I rattled off a resume.

It's not paid work, but they said they might ask me to put out a newsletter. And I told them I needed set hours, an office to go to and a firm deadline - which I do. But I've DONE newsletters. No, it's not cooking and no, I won't be with people, but I also wouldn't be doing nothing all day and I would be helping. We very much believe in this organization and its goals. And we've been talking about me doing volunteer work.

Sounds like a wonderful thing to do. I know a couple of people who are volunteering right now because they can't find jobs -- I HATE this economy -- and they report it's definitely improved their spirits just getting out of their houses/apartments.